"Let us not listen to those who think we ought to be angry with our enemies, and who believe this to be great and manly. Nothing is so praiseworthy, nothing so clearly shows a great and noble soul, as clemency and readiness to forgive." - Marcus Tulius Cicero
The words above were written by one of the great men in history, as are the ones below.
"Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character." - Robert E. Lee
I'd like to think that these men were thinking of God when they made their famous quotes. Sadly, Robert E. Lee was striving to turn the tide of a war supporting the enslavement of other men, and Marcus Tulius Cicero was trying to disarm a political opponent so that he could strike him down when he came forward for a peace treaty.
Yet, there is a grain of truth in these words. These men, while they were secular in nature, showed a great deal of maturity clearly lacking in most Christian men today. I myself have been the cause of much pain and suffering; no Biblical man will deny that he has done the same.
This is not to say that all problems can be resolved simply by maturity, but as it says in Proverbs 15:1, "A soft answer turneth away wrath."
Perhaps we, as men and women in Christ, ought to increase our knowledge of what maturity is. Yet again I tell you that Jesus was the epitome of spiritual maturity. He Himself is the model which we, as men, should strive to emulate. This is accomplished by seeking the Lord in all we do. (Proverbs 3:6)
According to Psalm 4:3, "The Lord has set apart him that is Godly for Himself." God wants you holy men to be set apart for Him and Him alone. I doubt not that many of you have given yourself, whether past or present, to the pursuit of the things of this world. This, obviously, is not God's will for you, as he commands you to be in the world, not OF the world. 2 Peter 3:18 commands us to grow in Christ. What is growth in Christ but a spiritual maturing; a sort of Biblical "coming of age", if you will?
Every action we have should be derivative of Christ. This is not to say that we will not make mistakes; we will, as Christ was, is, and always will be the ONLY perfect man. We, as his children, however, have the ability to withstand sin. Philippians 4:13 tells us that our strength comes from Christ and Him alone. How can we withstand the wiles and wickedness of a fallen world without a shield given by the only man who ever withstood these things himself?
Spiritually mature men are to have wisdom as well (1 Cor. 1:24, 30). Wisdom can be sought in one of the most readily available sources on earth: the Holy Bible. Here (speaking of America in particular, but other countries as well) we tend to view the Bible as a sort of "Holy commodity"; the more you own, the better you are. Sadly enough, a library has many copies of the Bible and, on the shelf adjacent, you can find the most vulgar novels and other reading material on this planet. The type of reading material you OWN does not define you, though this is not to say that you should own vulgar novels and other reading materials as long as you don't read them (this should go without saying). The type of material that you allow to define your life is far more important than what you own or don't own. How much dust is on the cover of your Bible? Do you read it like you read the next Lee Child or Ted Dekker novel? Try, this week, to read as much of your Bible as you can; turn off the TV, put down the newspaper, and crack the cover. God speaks to us through His Word.
Finally, our lives are defined by their "fruit". The best way to determine if God resides in you is through comparing your life to the words of Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Do others see these qualities in you? If not, you may want to evaluate your life; are you a Biblically masculine man?
Later on, we will focus on the fellowship and relational aspect of Biblical masculinity: how do you apply your faith to your relationships with others?
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